Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Found out how to make your own personal rubber stamp.Plastic eraser from Staples or other similar stores should be just fine:)

Instructions:
1.Start by drawing your desired design on the Staedtler eraser or Staedtler carving block using a pencil. While drawing your design, make sure to keep in mind what parts of your design will stand out and what parts of your design will be carved away. The raised part of your design is the part that will be inked, while everything else will be cut away.

2.Now that you have drawn your design out on the eraser or carving block, you should work on carving out most of the white space or empty background around your design. It is generally easier to carve out the larger spaces first before working on the details.

3.Use larger cutting tools to cut out larger parts of white space, and then gradually work your way down to the more detailed lines and cuts using smaller and finer cutting tools. Regular stamp cutting tools are designed this way, though you can also use exacto knives and other blades and cutting devices as needed.

4.Once you have cut out most of the design, test your personal rubber stamp design by inking it up and giving it a couple of stamp tests. If there are lines or areas that need to be fine tuned, now would be the time to do them.

5.Between each time that you use your personal rubber stamp, you should make sure to clean it off using a gentle stamp cleaning product. Keeping your stamp clean between uses will allow it to last longer.